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PROVIDER.

3. A 2 wire cable that is
routed between switch box 1 and the fixture box - this wire cable
comes with a black / white wire plus the bare equipment grounding
wire.

4. A circuit power supply
source wire cable that is routed to switch 3.

5. Insulated wire nuts to
connect / join wire together, variety of sizes out there so make
sure you obtain the correct size.

6. Wire staples, to affix the
wire cables to wall studs as needed. Wire cable must be secured
within 6 inches of entering the electrical box.

7. Wire cable / wire
strippers.

8. Screwdrivers as required.

Holes drilled to feed wires
through studs must be 1 1/4" from edge of stud, in instances where
the wire cable is closer then the edge of stud must have a 1/16-in.
thick protective metal plate over the area where the cable is being
feed through (may want to notch the stud so that that the
protective plate does not create a bump on the drywall). Also read
the article called 'Wire
Routing Basics'

Wire cables entering the
electrical box - secure the cable clamp at the box snug enough that
the cable cannot come out but not too tight as to pinch the cable
and break through the insulated cover of the cable.

You must have at least 6 inch
length of wire inside the electrical box, it can be a bit more but
not less, it can fail an inspection if the length of each wire is
less than 6 inches. Also read the article called 'Box
Fill Calculations' as there is a limit on how many wires
are allowed for a certain size electrical box.

STEP 1 -Make certain that the power supply cable is dead - turn off the
electrical breaker at the service panel. Make certain that everyone
in the house is aware of what you are doing so that they do not get
the notion to reset the breaker when another light in the home is
not working.

STEP 2 - Make the box openings (if a existing home)

STEP 3 - Feed / Route the wire cables.

STEP 4 - Mount
/ Install the Electrical Boxes (make sure the electrical boxes are
secured as some fixtures are heavy and may require additional
support) [The electrical box should not extend beyond the edge of
the finished wall or ceiling so that the fixture can mount flush to the
ceiling and the wall switch cover will mount flush - but it also
should not be recessed too far into the wall or ceiling]; then feed
the wire cables into the electrical boxes. Sometimes because of
tight openings in existing homes, the wire cable may to be feed into
the electrical box then the box put in position and secured.

STEP 5 -Connect the wires...

Connections Instructions: (as depicted in the diagrams above)

At the Fixture box...

One cable entering this box, (wire cable # 1) coming from switch
1.

* a) connect the black wire coming from switch 1 to the switched
ungrounded conductor (hot) of fixture - if screw type connections then
connect to brass color screw.
* b) connect the white wire coming from switch 1 to the grounded
conductor (neutral) of fixture - if screw type connections then connect
to the silver color screw.
* c) please see under important notes in regards to the equipment
grounding conductor (bare wire).

At switch 1 box...

Two Cables entering this box, one coming from switch 2 (wire cable # 2), and one coming from fixture
(wire cable # 1).

* a) connect the black wire coming from fixture to common
screw of switch 1.
* b) using an insulated wire nut connect / join the white wire coming
from fixture + the white wire coming from
switch 2.
* c) connect the red
wire coming from switch 2 to the one of the remaining main screws of switch
1.
* d) connect the black
wire coming from switch 2 to the last remaining main screw of switch
1.
* e) please see under important notes in regards to the equipment
grounding conductor (bare wire).

* a) using an insulated wire nut connect / join the white wire coming
from switch 1 + the white wire coming
from switch 3.
* b) connect the red wire coming from switch 1 to the one screw that is a
matching pair of screws on switch 2 (both the red and black wires coming from switch 1 must go
to a matching pair of screws at switch 2)
* c) connect the black wire coming from switch 1 to the 2nd screw that is a
matching pair of screws on switch 2 (both the red and black wires coming from switch 1 must go
to a matching pair of screws at switch 2)
* d) connect the red wire coming from switch 3 to one screw from a
different matching pair of screws. (both the red and black wires coming
from switch 3 must go to a matching pair of screws at switch 2)
* e)
connect the black wire coming from switch 3 to the 2nd screw that is a
matching pair. (both the red and black wires coming from switch 3 must go
to a matching pair of screws at switch 2)

***Just to clarify further - The red and
black wires coming from switch 1 go to one set of matching screws at
switch 2 -- The red and black wires coming from switch 3 go to a
different set of matching screws at switch 2 - A matching set is 2
screws of the same color.***

* f) please see under important notes in regards to the equipment
grounding conductor (bare wire).

At switch 3 box...Two cable entering this box, one cable coming from switch 2 (wire cable #
3), and one cable coming from the 'circuit power supply cable'.

* a) connect the black wire coming from
'circuit power supply cable' to the
common screw of switch 3.
* b) using an insulated wire nut connect / join the white wire coming
from 'circuit power supply cable' + the white wire coming from switch 2.
* c) connect the red wire coming from switch 2 to one of the remaining main screws of switch
3.
* d) connect the black wire coming from switch 2 to the last remaining main screw of switch
3.
* e) please see under important notes in regards to the equipment
grounding conductor (bare wire).

Important Notes:

By electrical codes you MUST have at least 6 inches
of wire in the electrical box itself, and also the wire must be able to
reach at least 3 inches outside the box, it can fail an electrical
inspection if the required min. wire length is not met. You may
have the wires a bit longer (within reason) but they cannot be shorter.
Also see the note on box fill further down in this article.

If the fixture has screw type connectors, the ungrounded
conductor (hot) is connected to the brass color screw, and the grounded
conductor (neutral) is connected to the silver color screw. If it
has black and white wires coming from fixture, then just connect black to
black and white to white. Use wire nuts of the correct size to join wires
together.

What is not shown in the drawings to avoid confusion, is that each wire
cable also has a bare equipment grounding wire included. This wire is
connected to a grounding screw in each electrical box (if the box is
metal), joined either through the grounding screws in the box
itself or via a wire nut to the bare wire of the next cable entering / exiting the box, it
is also connected to any grounding screw (if there is one) on the switch
itself, as well as any grounding screw at the fixture (green wires that
attach to the fixture are grounds). Now if using a plastic box, it
is made of a material that is non conductive, however some plastic boxes
have a metal strip inside that can still be used to connect equipment
grounding wires, in the event that it does not use wire nuts to join the
bare grounding wires together. The equipment grounding wire (bare in most
cables) must be electrical conductively joined throughout the circuit.
Green wires are also equipment grounding conductors.

At the 3 way switches (switch 1 & 3) there are 3 main electrical screws, one of these 3
screws is distinctly different in color (perhaps darker) than the other
2. This screw connection is called the common screw. It is very important
that in order for all the switches to work as they are intended to that the
correct wire is attached to the common screw. Basically as depicted
in the drawings one switch has the ungrounded conductor (hot) from the
circuit power supply cable attached to the common screw, where the other
switch had the ungrounded conductor (hot) feed to the light fixture
itself.

Please also note that there are a variety of manufactures out there that
make 3 way switches so it is possible that the switch you buy may have
the common screw located in a different spot or side of the switch then
depicted in the drawings in this article, just make sure that the wire
depicted to go to the common screw of each of the switches is actually
connected to the common screw of the 3 way switch you bought. The other 2
wires going between the remaining screws of one switch to the other
switch does not matter as long as one wire of the 2 remaining wires go on
each of the remaining 2 screws of the screw.

At the 4 way switch (switch # 2) there are 2 sets of
matching screws, one set will match in color and the other set will be
distinctly different perhaps darker in color, it is important that the
traveler wires (red and black in the design in this article) from the
previous switch are connected to one matching set, and the traveler wires
going to the next switch (red and black in the design in this
article) are connected to a different matching set.

If there is an equipment grounding screw on the 3 way switch it may be
green in color and be separated away from the main connections of the
switch and likely part of the metal frame that is also part of the
mounting structure of the switch.

Extensions to this Switch circuit...

Be Aware that there is a limit by code on how many
wires can be in a given size electrical box, when adding more wires to
the same box you may have to install a larger and / or deeper box to
allow space for more wires coming and out of the box.

The colors of the wires depicted are based on
the standards and code requirements / configuration in the United States
and Canada. If you are viewing this site from a foreign country, your
wiring standards and color of wires may be different but the principal
and sequence of wiring will still remain the same. Therefore the
information in this article may still be of use to you regardless of what
country you may be in. Just translate the colors used here to the color
of wires used in your country in regards to ungrounded (hot) conductors
/ grounded conductors (neutral) and equipment grounding conductors as
well know applicable code requirements in your country.